Arizona man sentenced to nine life terms for 1991 temple killings

An Arizona man was sentenced to 249 years in prison for the murder of nine people at a Phoenix, Arizona Buddhist temple in 1991.

Johnathan Doody and an accomplice robbed a Buddhist temple and then Doody shot and killed six monks, a nun and two assistants afterwards, reports The Associated Press.

In January, he was found guilty of first-degree murder after shooting everyone in the back of the head. His accomplice, Allesandro Garcia, testified against him as part of a deal that would keep prosecutors from seeking the death penalty against him. Garcia claims that the robbery was all Doody's idea and that despite Garcia's protests, Doody shot everyone.

Barb Heller, speaking for the temple, said, "We hope this sentence makes him suffer for the rest of his life."

According to AZcentral, Doody was originally sentenced to 281 years, but a judge threw out the results in a mistrial, and he was tried again this past fall.

Twenty-two years of his sentence were shaved off due to having already spent time in prison, but the rest of his sentence must be served consecutively, the judge ruled.

Doody received 25 years for each of the nine murders on top of 12 years for each count of armed robbery, nine years for conspiracy and 12 years for burglary.